ECTOR COUNTY, TX (KWES) - The Ector County Commissioners’ Court is expected to accept the termination of its contract with the GEO group at a Commissioners’ Court meeting set for December 20.
The GEO Group is the company that currently rents and runs operation inside the Ector County Courthouse’s jail.
Ector County Commissioner Dale Childress says the GEO Group works with the U.S. Marshal service to house federal inmates.
Though after an audit from the U.S. Marshal service, it was determined that the jail facility had a number of deficiencies and would need repairs for further operation.
Childress has said GEO group came to the commissioners court with a request for $500,000 for assistance with the repairs, but the request was turned down. The group then requested $300,000 but that request was also turned down.
Childress told NewsWest 9, he don’t believe the cost of repairs or the inconvenience of construction on the fourth floor are worth maintaining operations in the jail. He would rather shut the facility down and save on its utilities cost.
“We’ve had issues with water leaking down all the way to the first floor into the clerks office, all of the district judges get rained on pretty frequently, and what they do is our responsibility, not the business of housing federal prisoners," said Childress.
Childress says the agreement with GEO Group brought in around $700,000 the previous year.
If the termination is accepted, county officials have set a target date of February 9 for GEO Group to clear the space, though they say the date is not a strict deadline.
